


Chalex and the Kotatsu

by ruffini



Series: Day in the Lives of Chalex [5]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alex pretends like he doesn't, Charlie really wants a kotatsu, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but he secretly really does too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruffini/pseuds/ruffini
Summary: Charlie, Alex, and Jessica go furniture shopping. Charlie wants a kotatsu and Alex secretly agrees that it's a good purchase.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall
Series: Day in the Lives of Chalex [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900081
Kudos: 19





	Chalex and the Kotatsu

**Author's Note:**

> Do people still read these? Well, to those of you who do, hope you enjoy! I just got this random idea of Charlie really wanting a kotatsu as another excuse to cuddle Alex.

Alex’s apartment that he shared with Jess needed more furniture. Sure they had the basics like a corner couch, a table and some chairs, beds, desks, dressers, and the like. But aside from that, their apartment was pretty bare. Both Alex and Jess didn’t mind that much since they were college students after all, but they had both made mental notes in the backs of their heads to buy some more furniture or somethings to add some color and life to their apartment. Which was exactly how Alex found himself at the mall in the downtown area of Berkeley with Charlie. Jessica had been with them too but she had quickly made an excuse about going to a random store to look for some decorations.

Alex and Charlie were mostly window shopping for now, seeing nothing that had really captured either of their attentions. They had a decently sized budget, courtesy of Charlie’s dad, since Charlie would be moving in with Alex and Jess the next year for college. Eventually they stumbled across a Japanese furniture store. Charlie immediately spotted something inside that caught his attention. Motioning for Alex to pause for a moment, Charlie pointed at the store.

“Let’s go in here real quick Lex.” Charlie said while pulling his boyfriend with him into the store.

“A Japanese furniture store? What could we possibly get from here?” Alex asked, intrigued with whatever it was that had caught the taller boy’s attention.

“Just trust me, we definitely need one of these.” Charlie said as he led Alex to the item.

Stopping in front of what looked like a bunch of tables, Charlie quickly pointed to one of them. Alex looked down. The table Charlie was pointing at looked like any other coffee table. The only thing that stuck out was a thick looking blanket that sat folded on top of the table. Alex figured some other customer had just simply placed it there after deciding they didn’t want it. Raising one eyebrow at Charlie, Alex turned to ask why exactly Charlie was interested in this table.

“Really Charles? A coffee table? We already have one at the apartment.” Alex stated.

But Charlie didn’t seem to pay any attention and gestured for Alex to take a look underneath the table.

“It’s a kotatsu Lex. A table with a heater and a blanket to trap in the heat.” Charlie explained.

Still skeptical about why Charlie would want one, Alex turned back to face his boyfriend. The question must have been obvious on his face because Charlie spoke before he even got a chance to ask.

“It gets pretty cold in Berkeley during the winter and this way, we can save a bit on heating and electricity by not having to run the heater constantly in the apartment. Plus, doesn’t this just look so comfortable to snuggle under?”

Charlie turned to look back at Alex. He studied his boyfriend’s face. Charlie could tell that Alex was close to agreeing, if anything just for the fact about saving money. Deciding to bring out the big guns, Charlie put on his best puppy eyes before making eye contact with Alex.

“Please Lex? It’ll definitely be a good investment for the apartment.”

Alex knew he was a goner the moment Charlie pulled the puppy eyes out. He was never able to say no to Charlie whenever he pulled out that look. But Alex would be lying if he said he didn’t want to snuggle with Charlie under that blanket during the winter. Or that the idea of being able to save some money on utilities was a terrible one. But Alex had a reputation to keep here. He was the snarky one in this relationship and he sure as hell would play that role as much as possible with Charlie. Turning to smirk at Charlie, he gave his response.

“I suppose Charles. Since you want it so much we can get it.” Alex drawled, pretending to be nonchalant about the whole thing.

But Charlie saw right through the act, having gotten used to his boyfriend’s snark and sarcasm. Beaming now, Charlie gave Alex a quick peck on the cheek. Dragging his boyfriend off to take a look at some cushions to sit on and a rug, he started rambling on about other potential things to get.

By the time they stepped out of store, they had spent most of their budget on the kotatsu, some cushions, a very soft and fluffy rug, some kitchen utensils, and another comforter that happened to be on sale. Alex sent a quick text to Jess letting her know they were done shopping and to meet them at the food court when she was ready. Arriving at the food court, the two boys decided to ice cream while they waited for Jessica to arrive. Alex got two scoops of strawberry cheesecake in a cup because in his words “Cones are too much of a hassle. You have to rush to eat your ice cream before it melts all over your hand.” That comment inadvertently led to Charlie defending the honor of ice cream cones and opted to get two scoops of cookies and cream in a waffle cone.

A little while later, just as they finished their ice cream, Jessica arrived. She had managed to find some new dish wracks for the kitchen and some succlents they could keep around the apartment to add some color. Seeing her two friends sitting there without any bags around them, she got curious.

“Soooo, what did you two lovebirds end up buying? I don’t see any shopping bags. Wait, please tell me you two didn’t just go make out somewhere this entire time?” Jess questioned.

Alex just rolled his eyes at that comment. Charlie laughed at the idea but also, secretly wondered if he could talk Alex into a two hour long make out session next time. He filed that thought away for later though, turning his attention back to Jessica who was looking at them waiting for an answer.

“No Jess, we didn’t go make out. We bought a kotatsu from this Japanese furniture store and some cushions, a rug, and some other odds and ends. The store said to stop by when we were headed to the car so they could bring out the table and our other purchases for us, so we gotta head there first.” Alex filled her in.

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Jessica wanted to question why they got a table but decided against it. Walking with the two boys to the store, she waited while Alex went in to let the store attendant know they were heading to their car.

After loading the purchased products into the car, the three of them drove back to campus and their apartment so that they could get their furniture unpacked and set up.

* * *

Alex hated to admit how right Charlie had been about getting the kotatsu. It was only November but he was already freezing in the apartment. But the kotatsu was a blessing. He was currently the only one in the apartment, Jessica was at work and Charlie was in class, but would be getting out soon.

Alex had bundled himself up under the kotatsu and turned on the heater. They had placed it in front of their couch, allowing the couch to be used as a back rest while placing cushions and the rug on the ground to create a soft sitting area. Alex was still cold though and had draped one of their spare blankets around his shoulders as he sat there trying to finish a paper that was due the next day. But the cold was making it hard to concentrate. Fighting through another half hour of typing before finally giving up for now, deciding to finish the last few pages tomorrow morning, Alex minimized the windows with his research and his paper and went scrolling through social media. It was at this point, Charlie walked into the apartment, having just finished his last class of the day.

“Hey babe, hope you haven’t been too lonely in here without me.” Charlie beamed.

Pulling the blanket around his shoulders as he shivered, Alex tried to snuggle farther into the corner he occupied to try and keep warm.

“Oh you know, just me and the cold. I swear it’s like mother nature is trying to freeze me in my own apartment.” Alex snarked.

Charlie had to hold back a laugh since Alex looked so adorable underneath so many blankets.

“I’ll make some hot chocolate for us if you want to watch something on Netflix. Just pick something out and I’ll come join you.” Charlie said from the kitchen.

He quickly pulled out two mugs, filling both with some milk and putting them in the microwave. He then turned around to grab some hot chocolate mix from the cabinet behind him and some marshmallows. Mixing their drinks and adding some marshmallows to both mugs, Charlie headed to the living room, where Alex had an episode of _The Office_ playing on his laptop. Crawling under the kotatsu’s blanket and getting Alex to share the comforter around his shoulders, Charlie handed Alex his drink.

“Thank you.” Alex said with his usual smirk.

Charlie smiled back before turning his attention to the show. He had one arm around Alex’s shoulder while Alex had his head on his shoulder. The two of them got comfortable and watched _The Office_ for a few hours, laughing at the funny scenes and commenting on others. Charlie didn’t say anything to Alex, but he knew that Alex was appreciating the kotatsu a lot more than he was letting on, especially since Alex wasn’t always the best with dealing with the cold. But Charlie wouldn’t complain, especially since it just meant more opportunities to hold Alex close while in somewhere cozy and warm. Yeah, Charlie definitely was glad he had talked Alex into getting the kotatsu.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any prompts you'd like to see, leave them in the comments below and I'll try to work them into a future work. Leave your comments below because I really do love to hear your thoughts about each fic :)


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